Nepal: Carved temple roof strut at the Buddhist Rudra Varna Mahavihar (Uku Bahal) temple, Patan,...

Woodcarvings have been an integral part of houses and temples in Nepal since the 12th century and the art reached its peak during the 15th and 16th centuries CE. Wood being an abundant raw material, woodcarvings were simply everywhere: wooden doors, windows, cornices, pillars, struts or beams in Newar houses were all adorned with complex ornamental patterns. Temples, too, received a generous share of attention, but here, naturally, religious motifs were dominant. The woods of various trees were employed, including sisu, champa, deodar, haldu and teak; but the most favoured wood was that of the sal tree. The sal tree ('Shorea robusta'), formerly found in abundance in the Tarai and the valleys of the higher mountain ranges, provided the most hardy of Nepalese woods, reputed to last a thousand years, whether exposed to air or water, or for that matter, termites. Growing to a majestic height of 30-40 metres, a single tree would provide the carvers with an enormous amount of raw material. On a spiritual level, sal was supposedly favoured by Vishnu and inhabited by a spirit, which, if worshipped, granted rain. In some villages, sal was revered as the dwelling place of Van Devi, the 'Goddess of the Forests', to whom offerings were made. Since the construction of a temple warranted only the best material, wood from the tall sal tree was often employed. Sal wood allowed temples to survive many centuries, through hundreds of monsoons and the occasional earthquake.